The Missouri Open Meetings and Records Law Better known as THE - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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The Missouri Open Meetings and Records Law

Better known as…

THE SUNSHINE LAW

Megan D. Meadows, Esq.

mmeadows@spencerfane.com

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TODAY’S ROADMAP

 Mo. Rev. Stat. Chapter 610  Who is subject to the Sunshine Law?  Public meetings, votes and records  Sunshine Law and electronic records  Closed meetings, votes and records  Responding to sunshine requests  “The Bad,” followed by “The Good”

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SUNSHINE LAW BASICS

 The Sunshine Law governs the actions of

public governmental bodies.

 Legislative, administrative or other governmental

entities.

 Includes institutions of higher education, all

departments of political subdivisions, school districts, special-purpose districts.

 Also includes “quasi-governmental bodies,” which are

entities that perform certain public functions or regularly enter into contracts with public governmental bodies.

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SUNSHINE LAW BASICS

 Except as otherwise provided by law -

 All public meetings of public governmental

bodies shall be open to the public as set forth in section 610.020,

 All public records of public governmental bodies

shall be open to the public for inspection and copying as set forth in sections 610.023 to 610.026, and

 All public votes of public governmental bodies

shall be recorded as set forth in section 610.015.

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PUBLIC MEETINGS

 What is a public meeting?

 Any meeting of a public governmental body

where public business is discussed, decided, or policy formulated.

 Quorum must be present.  Meeting may be in-person, via conference call or

video conference, internet chat, or other electronic means.

 Notice of all meetings must be posted at least 24

hours in advance.

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PUBLIC MEETINGS

 Does NOT include an informal gathering of

members of a public governmental body for ministerial or social purposes

 Unless intent to avoid the purposes of the

Sunshine Law

 Does include luncheon meetings



The Kansas City Star v. Shields, 771 S.W.2d 101 (Mo. App. 1989)

 Does include any electronic (e-mail or

• therwise) votes in lieu of holding a public

meeting

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PUBLIC MEETINGS

 Notice of public meetings must be posted at

body’s principal office.

 The notice must include:

 Time, date and place of meeting  Tentative agenda for all open meetings  Whether meeting is open or closed (or both)

 Not required – but a good idea:



Time the notice was posted – to prove compliance with 24 hour notice rule.



Can also post notice online or multiple locations.

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PUBLIC MEETINGS

 Minutes of all open and closed meetings shall

be taken, including a recording of all votes

 Minutes shall include:

 Date, time, place  Members present and absent  Record of votes taken

 Meetings may be videotaped or recorded by

the public

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PUBLIC VOTES

 What is a public vote?

 Any vote cast at any public meeting.  Members must be physically present to vote.

 BUT in an emergency, a member may vote via phone,

internet, etc., but only if a quorum is physically present at the meeting location.

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PUBLIC RECORDS

 What is a public record?

 Any record retained by a public governmental

body, including those prepared by outside consultants or contractors.

 Does NOT include internal records which contain

advice, opinions, or recommendations for a decision-making process.

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PUBLIC RECORDS

 Unless a record falls under an exemption – it

is a public record under the Sunshine Law.

 This includes all electronic records and e-

mails, regardless of the format

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E-MAIL AS PUBLIC RECORDS

 Any e-mail retained by a public governmental

body is a public record.

 610.025 requirement for e-mails:

 Any member who transmits a message relating to

public business via e-mail shall also transmit the message to the body’s custodian of records or “office computer”

 Required for messages sent to two or more

members, and if sender and all recipients constitutes a majority.

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E-MAIL AS PUBLIC RECORDS

 E-mails that may not fall under the 610.025

guidelines, but are retained, are public records subject to disclosure

 Personal e-mails kept on work system

 These may be subject to the Sunshine law if kept  However there is no requirement that these be

saved

 E-mail retention policy

 If your body has one…follow it!

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ELECTRONIC PUBLIC RECORDS

 Everything is becoming electronic  Other than e-mail, electronic records could

mean:



Spreadsheets and databases



Electronic voting records



Ballot initiative records



Internet history



Phone records



Cloud computing



Website data



“Drafts” of documents

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CLOSED RECORDS AND MEETINGS

 All public records and meetings are open and

subject to the Sunshine law – unless they can be closed under an exemption

 The body may, but is not required, to close

records and meetings falling under an exemption

 Exemptions contained in 610.021

 Twenty-two (22) subsections

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EXEMPTIONS UNDER 610.021

1)

Legal actions, causes of action or litigation

2)

Leasing, purchase or sale of real estate

3)

Hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting employees

4)

State militia or national guard

5)

Non-judicial mental or physical health proceedings of identifiable individuals

6)

Scholastic records (except to parents for children under 18)

7)

Testing and examination materials

8)

Welfare cases of identifiable individuals

9)

Preparation for labor negotiations

10) Software codes for electronic data processing

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MORE EXEMPTIONS

11)

Specs for competitive bidding

12)

Sealed bids, drawing and proposals

13)

Individually identifiable personnel records – does not apply to names, positions, salaries and length of service for all employees

14)

Protected by other laws (e.g., voter registration info under 115.157)

15)

Scientific and technological innovations

16)

Municipal hotlines (abuse and wrongdoing)

17)

Confidential communications with auditors

18)

Guidelines and policies regarding public safety

19)

Security systems and access thereto

20)

Computer networking

21)

Credit card numbers and personal identifiers

22)

Proposals to license property to higher education institution

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CLOSED MEETINGS

 A public meeting may only be closed if it falls

under one of the exemption categories

 Before going closed, a vote of the majority of

members must be made

 The specific reason for closing must be

announced and entered into the minutes

 Closed session votes must be made available to

the public

 Includes employment hiring/firing votes – within 72

hours

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RESPONDING TO REQUESTS

1) Receive the request

• Is it clear what is being asked for?

2) Acknowledge the request in writing

• Respond within three business days,

even if the request cannot be completed that quickly

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RESPONDING TO REQUESTS

3)

Determine whether to accept or reject the request



If records to be produced are partially open and partially closed, then required to produce and redact as necessary, providing a reason for the redactions

4)

Complete the request

• Obligated to provide the records in requested format,

if available

• Charge for research time (employee’s regular rate),

copying (10 cents per page), cost of disk for electronic records

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THE BAD - PENALTIES

 Any aggrieved person, taxpayer, citizen of

Missouri, or prosecuting attorney or attorney general may seek judicial enforcement of the Sunshine Law

 Actions must be brought in the county where

the body is located

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THE BAD - PENALTIES

 If a Court finds that a public governmental

body has violated the Sunshine Law, it:

 SHALL impose fine up to $1,000 and MAY order

for costs and attorney’s fees for knowing violations

 SHALL impose fine up to $5,000 and SHALL

• rder for costs and attorney’s fees for purposeful

violations

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THE GOOD

 Attorney General issues advisory opinions

upon request, answering questions about the Sunshine Law and how its applied

 Noteworthy opinions:

 Cannot close a meeting to appoint non-

employees to board positions (Opinion No. 184-89)

 Members of a body may not present at a closed

meeting are allowed access to those minutes

(Opinion No. 82-97)

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RELATED LEGAL ISSUES

 Changes at election authorities may affect

the frequency and types of Sunshine requests

 Moving toward campaign contribution limits?  More electronic records and accessibility of

information

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THANK YOU

ANY QUESTIONS????



For more information, visit http://ago.mo.gov/Open-Government.htm

Megan D. Meadows, Esq.

mmeadows@spencerfane.com